With thanks to the blackbird whose creative singing inspired and sustained the writing of this document

Introduction

Blackbirds are renowned for the imaginative quality and complex variety of their song, as well as their capacity for mimicry [extended sample]. Such song invites speculation on how information could be encoded into it. The brevity of each "verse", as represented in sonograms, suggests that the song could be rendered visually by ideograms reminiscent of Chinese characters -- given the great variety of those logograms and their aesthetic possibilities traditionally celebrated in calligraphy.

Any such consideration is reframed by the manner in which tonal modalities are especially appreciated within some languages and cultures -- most notably Chinese. Tonal distinctions are a challenge for many others -- especially in comparison with the subtle requirements of Chinese. The implications are significant with the progressive challenge of China for America, whether or not any conflict takes physical form. The conflict in cyberspace has already been extensively documented.

The focus here on "blackbirds" offers a further twist to future possibilities in that the term is used as metaphorical jargon for so-called black helicopters. This reference became popular in the US militia movement and associated political groups in the 1990s as a symbol and warning sign of an alleged conspiratorial military takeover of the United States. A range of Blackbird aircraft has also been produced (Peter W. Merlin, Blackbird Facts, NASA). For example, the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird was an advanced, long-range, Mach 3+ strategic reconnaissance aircraft. Introduced in 1966, it constituted the pinnacle of the US military's Cold Warreconnaissance efforts. It was the fastest manned aircraft in the sky until it was retired in 1998.

What kind of "singing" was imagined as being associated with such blackbirds by their designers and enthusiasts -- perhaps only unconsciously? Ironically the SR-71 carried an "HRB Singer" infrared camera, which ran during the entirety of a mission for route documentation, to respond to any accusations of overflight. HRB is now part of Raytheon Intelligence and Information Systems.

Recent Chinese interest in carrier pigeons has been noted (China's army to train 10,000 new pigeon recruits, Metro, 3 March 2011; China's Most Secret Weapon: the messenger pigeon, Time, 2 March 2011). There is therefore some probability that the "code talker" approach of the past will be recognized as a precedent for "code singing" -- potentially enabled by blackbirds. Its wider incomprehensibility would then recall reference to variants of the phrase "its Chinese to us". Relevant to this argument is the extent to which songbirds are appreciated and trained in China. As recently noted by Mary X Dennis (The Social Lives of Chinese Songbirds, Audubon Magazine, 6 January 2013), its not uncommon to hear a bird sing out the entire Chinese National Anthem.

Recognition has been accorded to a shift from Realpolitik to Noopolitik (David Ronfeldt and John Arquilla, The promise of Noöpolitik, First Monday, August, 2007). This will necessarily be accompanied by forms of memetic warfare to match the ongoing cyberwarfare. With this transition, the strategic Blackbirds of the future may well be defined in terms of memeplexes within the noosphere. The following argument explores the possibility that, whatever the form they take, they may well "sing Chinese" -- operating "under the radar" of conventional communication processes thereby evading invasive security countermeasures.